Are Mice Making Your Allergies Act Up?

If allergy season has passed and you find that you are still experiencing the stuffy nose, itchy eyes, coughing, rash outbreaks or respiratory issues that regularly plague you at that time, you might be suffering from an allergic reaction to mice in your home.

Can Mice Cause Allergies in Humans?

A correlation between mice and allergic symptoms in humans became apparent with laboratory workers who use mice in their research. This was further enforced by observing reactions exhibited by susceptible children, particularly asthmatic ones, who owned mice as pets. But you do not have to be exposed to the actual animal itself to be affected. Mice in the walls are just as effective at triggering such symptoms and can strike from afar by setting their own "traps" for you to come across.

Don't Think You Have Mice? Think Again . . .

Haven't seen any mice in your apartment or house and think you're in the clear? Consider how a study of 831 homes found that a highly allergenic protein produced by mice was present in 82 percent of them. This protein adheres to dust particles and becomes airborne, the most common way to spread and exacerbate allergies in people. The allergenic proteins created by the mice can also be dragged across furniture and countertops as they scamper through their own urine and droppings to explore your home. They may also scatter allergen-coated hair that is contaminated by their saliva as a result of their constant grooming efforts. Coming into contact with these allergens is enough to make your immune system respond – creating the allergic conditions you experience.

What Can You Do?

First, determine that you indeed have a mouse problem. Search areas where food is stored or discarded and look for the telltale droppings that are easiest to spot. Less visible but just as telling would be smears along woodwork made by body oils as the mouse follows its chosen path to the food source. And don't discount those inexplicably frayed baseboard edges and thick piles of wood shavings. Mice must gnaw in order to file down their teeth, which never stop growing.

Next, decide which rodent control method works best for you. Simple snap traps have been a favorite for well over a century, but alternatives include glue traps, enclosed devices that use rodenticides, or electronic mouse traps. Since allergies are involved, consider using a hygienic trap such as the Victor® Kill & Seal™ trap. In addition to encasing the rodent's body, it also seals in any parasite that would otherwise abandon the mouse for a new host.

Finally, when your traps no longer spring (or zap or snare) and your pantry ceases to be raided, you should be able to breathe easy again without any rashes, itchiness or other symptoms. So why not take that extra step and add ultrasonic devices to prevent new mice from moving into your home? After all, allergies are not the only health issues that may manifest when your family is exposed to mice. Diseases may be contracted, including the potentially fatal Hantavirus. When your family's health is threatened, a mouse roaming around inside your home is more than a minor nuisance.

Whatever you need to deal with these unwanted guests, look to Victor® to help. Victor® offers a wide variety of options to choose from and has over a century of experience perfecting its methods and improving its product line.